I was recently asked to help out with giving khutbahs (Friday sermons) for the local community jummah where I live. At first I hesitated but I decided to go for it. I had given khutbahs before at my MSA but that was several years ago. This would be a lot different since it’s not just college students but parents, elders, young children and the general masjid crowd.

I believe I did a poor job, so have mercy on me with your comments, haha. There are several areas I can improve upon after watching this. I recorded it for this exact reason so I can critique and improve on my khutbah presentation skills. Here are some things I thought I could improve on:

Memorize the ayah(t) that are referenced in the khutbah. Listen to qaris to get the tajweed correct.

Don’t type out the entire khutbah, because I barely read from the paper.

Use bullet points since I like to talk and rant away instead of reading a paper.

Improve my vocabulary and use a thesaurus for better words.

Talk to myself first before everyone else.

Use “I” less and “we” more.

Do better research in finding relevant ahadith.

Re-read and understand the ahadith before the khutbah so there is no forgetting.

If something comes to mind, try to organize your thoughts in your mind before presenting it.

Stop shaking so much. Exercise and stretch before. Loosen up the muscles.

What are some of your thoughts and comments? InshaAllah I will be giving more in the future, so I have a lot work ahead to improve my presentation skills. JazakAllah khair. Thanks!